Metal furniture



Feb. 10, 1931. A. vRlcl-zL METAL FURNITURE Filed July 26, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVEN TOR.

///V7'0//v VfH/CEL A TTORNEYS Feb. 10, 1931. A. VERICEL METAL FURNITURE Fil y 26, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 TTORNEYS PatentedFeb. 10, 193

\, ANTOINE VE RIGEL,OFBALDWiN,'NEWVYORK, teamma e-gems? (in ut-firs. cone, JAQOBPORATION,OENEWYORKL ir IM MQF UR I x y I f ap lication filed 5311 1 26, 1926.;f Serial No. meals.

- My inventionihas' particiilar i efefehce t'ri its adjacentsection so that there are two n'iet al furniture, one of the-objects bein'g'to angular-faces of abutment or contact to the make'it'possible to ship-such furniture'in a joint, and, asthe term Wedge-cam? implies, knockeddown or gdil enabled state-and a feature of my invention isthe fact-that by 5 to' 'provid'e tortheready assjei'n'blingottthe a simplemanipulation of a' cam, co-acting several-sections ofth'e articles ofifurnitiiie wedges maybe caused to drawthe sections in such a manner that they'v'vill be firm-and together in the two directions which are rerigid, and at: the same time-niay'be quickly spectively normal to the two angulanfaces.

' disassembled, if desired.- In the formof'myinvention which I emlc' "The-.,1nore commonpra'ctice among manu ploy at present, the Wedging action is ob- 6Q facturers of metal furniture'atthe present t'ainedby co-acting' Wedge socketsandjplugs time is to' assemble-thes ections'of (eachain-it Whose axes are inclined in the two desired ofmetal -furniture at the factory, 'usuallyi 'in direCtiOnsWith respect to the direction of V a-pei'inanent'iorm,as, for exampl by weldrelative movement of thesections for assent 15 ing. lVhile this practice has the advantage 7 blyand' disassembly, and to-which relative -of requiring an undue amount offspa'ce 'in With res ofprovid-ing the desired rigidity to thearticle movement is imparted ace-actingcam oi furniture, it has the'obvious disadvantage V and lug, the cam assuming alock ed position v pect to the lug'at-t'he-conclusion of V shipment and also' hajs the further disadvan' the W gi g mOVemeIlttag'e o f making it impossihle' for "the user. The walls ofthefurniture Whichis of an '70 by use; These'aclvantages'areobtained from tionto itsffinalposition in-the socket. The 9 ofltliefurniture to replace an injuredpart." enclosing type, such as cabinets," dressers, "Because of the recognition of'these disad desks, and the-like are, as a general rule, vantages, manufacturers'have'to some extent made from sheet metal, and the plugs in such adopted thepractice'ofmaking sectional jfurcase may be semi-conically rolled extremities nitufe 1 1 ,.w ysthaf itzim 'ib sr adily of lateral extensions on the sheet imG CZLl, V

assembled or disassembled The usiialsecur-IL While the socke i 1150 ofsemi-collical ingmeans for the sections ini-su ch cases'jare fshape and disposed on the inner faces of rivetsor bolts, but th'esehave not proven alto- "frame parts which form the legs or other "gether satisfactory for the reason that they solid supporting parts. Obviously these may i soon become loosda'ridfor-th further reason be reversed in location. The lug with which s0 that they=draw the sections-together in only the cam cooperates mayv also be .:formed by onedirection, andtherefore,itisfnotjpossible the folding of aflate'ral. extension on each in many cases to obtain the tight jointfs which plug-carrying sheetg netal section- ;-In such are required both forsightlinessfand for ig t :ca'se'the cooperativecam Will? be o'nthesup- I accordance with niyi'invei'ition I have lug and force the plugs into the sockets, thereprovided aniniproved'fo'rm at means for seby r difavving the section inthe? two'directions caring-tlie-sections off t'Urniture' tOgethei' l 'fih S k fl c lmg it which not only have the-desirable quality of t ght omt, v Y

and di'sassembling the sections, buthave the erably slightlylangeiz than the inner diam- 7 further advantage that they lockthe parts ftoeter ofthe soclietybutzits resilient nature will geth'enwith sufficient rigidity, ithout any permit it to'beco nesmaller in diameter to the possibility of the joints becoming locsened necessary extent as it -isforced: by the cam ac What I term the wedge-cam? construction; resultant expansive tendency' of the'plug in which characterizes myinv'enti0n.- 'My in? the'socket-holds the joint very tightly against venti'ongis we'll 'a-clapte'd'for application to strains, and yet,'becai1seoftheresili'ent char joint constructions in which onesection' both acter of the unio'n,;it Will be. appreciated that "port, and When rotated will engage With :the V easy and'convenientoperation-in assembling The normal siz joflthe pliig Will befpref- 9o abuts against and is paifitially overlapped bythe strainsfwillfbe absorbed Without the wear loo v that is incident to rivet and bolt constructions. The long bearing surfaces of the Wedge sockets and plugs render the ]oints very firm and strong.

These j oining and locking means have the further advantage that they require no. parts additional to" those carried by the sections themselves tosecure the sections together,'as

will appear from the detailed construction of the illustrated embodiment of my invention.

- 7 Certain, other details of construction which will likewise appear fromthe description Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail. of a fragmen-' tary portion ofthe article at the left near the top as viewed in Fig. 1';

Fig. 4 is-a vertical section'taken alongline 4-4 of Fig. 3

Fig. 5 is a vertlcal section on line 5- 5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged verticalsection of the upper portion of the article, as indicated by line 66of Fig. 5; V Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectional detail on line 7-7 of Fig. 5; r

Fig. 8 is a detail view corresponding to the right and middle in Fig. 5, showmgachacent 7 portions of two sections in a preliminary ,For

stage of assembly;

Fig. 9 shows a suitable operating 6001' for the cam.

shown my invention as embodied in a sec.

tional metal dresser having the customary mirror 1; supported by two arms 2 secured to the chest portion of the dresser in any convenient'manner.

, The chestgportionof the dresser is sup ported asusual uponfour which form corner pieces and additionally is made up of; seven sections including a top and bottom,

two side or enclgpieces, a back and two drawer frames... The legs are r1g1d, a1igle metal members formed convenlently and economically by die-casting. The front legs or corner posts arenumberedS inthe, drawings andthe similar. rear legs (only one ofwhich is shown) are numbered4. The otherse'ctions are stamped from sheet material. The two sidemembers 5 (only one of. which appears inathe drawings), back member 6' and the two drawer frames 7 and 8 a-re attached to the legs, which form corner frame pieces, bythe wedge-cam construction which is above referred to, and

i which will be presently described.

Thetop 9 is given the appearance of thick.

he. purpose of illustration 1. have,

ness by hollow edge strips 9a along the front I and sides secured on the under side of the flat metal plate, as is usual in such c-onstru ctions,-

and each of the side-edge strips is hinged f to its side member 5 by a hinge 5a, formed by rolling the two overlapping edges concentrically, asshown in Fig.6, thereby permanently securing the top to the side members while 'making it possibleto fold them fiat for ship ment. The bottom 10 is similarly hinged 'by' the rollhinge 10a to the rear or back member 6. I The bottomlO is releasably secured at its front edge to the bottom flange of the lower drawer frame 8, asby a button 11.

Thewedges in the construction shown arem the form of taper or semi-conical rigid sockets 12 which are'cast on the inner faces ofthe rigid corner frame pieces or uprights which also form the; legs, and cooperative plugs 13 which are'similarlytapered are formed by rolling to semi-conical shape-the extremities of lateral extensions 14 on the several sheet metal, sections which are di-" rectly attached to the corner frame pieces.

As shown in Fig. 2, as wellas clearly indicated in Figs. 4, 5jand 8, each sheet metal member onwhich plugs are formed has each vertical edge offset-so as to form an angle providing a groove within which the corner of the leg fits. .Also, as clearly shown in the drawings,the edge of each leg member is formed with an inner groove into which fits theouter corner formed by the offsetting of the sheet metal" member. formed a'double lap jointhaving three abuttingsurfaces. The lateral extensions 14 overlap the inner face of the leg for a little distance, and then are rolled in the semi-conical Thus there is form to provide the tapered plugs 13 forinsertion in the sockets 12; Each leg is an angle member and has a series of sockets cast on each of 1tsi1nnerangular faces. The axis ofeach socket is inclinedto each face of the angle formed by the sheet metal member,

withinwhich the corner of the leg fits, being shown as diverging downwardly, from these faces,; and the axis ofthe plug has a similar inclination. Consequently as the plugs; are forced down'into their sockets, the section of] which they form apart is forced toward the leg in the two directions normal to the faces ofthe angle. Thereby the three angularly joined flat surfaces onthe sheet metal section,

formed by its offsetting, are drawn intojfirm engagement with the three complementary fiat angularly joined surfaces on the leg member, formed by, its groove and outer flange.

.Thesemi-conical ends on the extensions 14 which constitute the plugs 13 are normally of a somewhat larger size than the inside of the rigid sockets 12,-an'das these plugsareforced into the sockets they are curled up to the smaller size required,their circumferential length being sucha-s to permit of this. The resilient expansive force'of the plugs there- 25 g the securingof thej ointh The camzmay be 7 f fore causes theni to "very snugly into the i Lisa-132 large rivet holes, will be absorbed by theplu'gs because of their resilient characten vide acam construction, which. will now be described; On" each inner face of each leg is rotatively mounted-a cam 15"betweentwo f t mately a parabolic curve. Cooperatlvewith the sockets 12,"the cam face being approxi:

i each cam is a lug 16 onthe adjacent edge-of the sheet metal-memberadjacentltotthe face of the leg. This lug is alateral extension on the sheet metal" section folded to channel shape so as to slideover the camas the sheet metalsection is slid. down overtheface of the leg in "entering the plugs 13 :into the sockets 12. g I This preliminary position is represented in Fig. 8. Theparts are sodisposed that when the plugs have been entered into 7 the sockets asfar asthey will easily go,-the I channel abutment or lug 16will'have passed over the cam 15, and the cam is then free to be rotatedto complete the wedging actlon and operatedin any convenient way. It is shown I as being provided with a square socket'for: the

.receptionof any suitable tool, such, for example, as is shown in .Fig. 9. At the conclusion of the camming action, a, pro ect1ng fin- Q 7 ger a on the cam strikes againstthe wall;

ofthe abutment 16. and the cam is thus locked in position,fagainstoverthrow. In this way the'joint itselfyis securely locked andican only be released by the backward rotation of the cam 15. 1

- I- The illustrateddresser has abottom drawer 17, a middle drawerlS and two top drawers 19 andl20 disposedsideiby side. To, accommodate these :drawers :there are provided the V two; drawer frames 7 and 8 above referred to. These drawer frames are stampedfromsheet metaland spanthe two front legs. The lower frame 8 has a full length opening to accom- -m0date the drawer l7 ofvf'ull width. The

upper drawer frame 7 has-ztwd half-width openings to accommodate the two half-width drawers 19 and QOQ- Suitable runners or guides 21 on the side sections 5' (see Fig-5 serveto support and guide the drawers. There will also be a suitable runner orguide: which is not shown inthe drawings for thefinner sides of the drawers l9 and 20, extending from'the drawer frame to the backsctionfi.

The drawerframes are flanged on allfour sides as appears more clearly from Figs. 2 and 5." The middle drawer 18 will slide on top of'the drawer frame 8. For attachment of I these drawer. frames, each front leg has on the inner face of ts front portion four props erly spaced double taper inclined sockets l2 as above described, two for each end of eachdrawer frame and between these sockets 1t hasthe rot-ativecam 15; while each end oi .each drawer frame'has itsedge inwardly off-.-

e thejchannel shapecam abutment 16' between To force the plugs'mto:thesockets -I prothe two plugs in properposition tobe en wedge sockets and plugs is optional.

The side sections 5 are 'similarly connecte at their fronts to the other angle face of the respective front legs 3, while their rear edges gaged by the cam. Obviously thenumberfsof aresimilarly connected to the inner side'faces of the rear angle legs 4, as shownin Fig. 5; 1' For this purpose I have showii'four wedge socketsand-plugs on each edge, an"d an abut,- mentfor the cam between .the-"twoimiddle sockets and plugsp Here again the-number" of wedges is optional. The rear section 6 by mywe'dge-cam joint tothe innerrear faces ofthe two rear legs.4, four. wedges and-a is similarly connectedsinglecam being: shown therefor inconnec tion with each rear leg. A It will be appreciated that the several sec tions of the illustrated article'of furniture may be compactly shipped and mayibexvery' quickly assembled and disassembled. ,The-

joints have no tendency to become loosened, even after prolonged usage. Ordinary shocks to which furnitureis subjectedare absorbed at'the joint without wear, and'thereisat all times: a resilient strain holding the joint together. firm and rigid. V a

It is obvious that various modifications may be -made in the construction'i .shownl in .the drawings and above particularly described,

Practically "the joint is altogether within-the principle and scope of my invention. I

I claim:" g I, 1. lnicombination, two separatesmetal furnitureparts to be detachably connected together, one of "said "parts: having. a' straight groove with flaring surfaces provided along an edge thereof and the other said parthaving a corner alongan edgethereof providing converging-surfaces complementary to. the

- flaring surfaces of thegro'ove to. fit therein, I

and coacting wedge memberscarried-respectively bythe said parts'to operate upon re-la- 'tivesli'ding movement ofthe said edges to draw them together in a direction to cause 'lOb' a' fir'mabutting relationbetwee'n the t wo sui 1 faces of the'groove'and the two complement ary surfaces of the corner so that thereby stantiallyright angular groove which is com plementary to the said-corner a wedgermem her on the framepiece at its inner side having a wedging surface inclined with respect to the frame. edge, and a: cooperating comple-r mentary wedge member. onithe inner offset I edge portion of the sheet metal section for thereby firmly diagonally drawingtogether the said angular corner edge and the said complementary angular grooved edge upon relative sliding movement of the said edges 3. ,In sectional furniture, the combination of a rigid metal frame piece provided along one "edge at the innerside thereof with substantially rightangular groove forming an inner substantially right angular cornena 'sheetmetal section'ofl'set inwardly along a margin thereof to provideon the outer side of its margin acorner and a' groove which are.

" complementary respectively with the said groove and innercor'ner-of the frame piece, so' as to have interfitting abutting relation therewith, with the outer edge margin of the frame. piece overlapping uponthe outer side ofthe, sheet metal section and withthe offset inner edge margin of the latter overlapping upon the inneriside of:the frame piece, a wedge member on the-innerside of the frame piece with its wedging surface directed di-' agonally towards the inner. side ofthe frame pieceiand away from its grooved corneredge, and a cooperatingwedgemember carried by the inner offset'margin of-the sheet metal section with a similarly inclined wedge surface complementary to that of the wedge member on the frame'piece so that thereby upon relative sliding movement the cooperating wedge members will draw the said angular corners into the said respective complementary grooves in firm abutting relation;

4'. In sectional furnitureg'thecombination of a rigid metal frame pieceprovide dalong one edge at the inner side thereof-'with a substantially right angular grOOTVe forming an inner substantially right angular corner, a sheet metal section offset inwardly along y a margin thereof to provide on the outer side of its margin a corner and a groove which are complementary respectively with the said groove and inner .corner of the 'frame'piece so as to have interfitting abuttingrelation therewith, with the outer edge margin'of the frame piece overlapping upon the outer side of the sheet metal section and with-the offset inner edge margin of the latterv overlapping upon the inner side of thesframe piece, afwedge member onthe inner side of the, frame piece with its wedging surface directed diagonally towards the inner side of the frame piece and away from its grooved p relative slidi g m emen scooper ating" w dg mem rs; wi l new the said, an-v gu-lar corners into the respective complea nieIi ary'f grooves i111 firm abutting e ation, the sa1d wedge" mefmberon the inner s de of the rame .piecei-beinggin theform of an 'in wardly rounded substantially, semi-circular socket wit-ha slottedopeni-ngadjacent to the infidel sideof the groovediedge of the frame piece, and thesaid cooperating wedge member on the sheet metal :section being in; the

form of an inwardly rounded substantiallysemi-circularly bent; extension from the inner offset'margin of the sheet metal section formi'ngssa :ivedge plug which is s'lidable' into the.

s'aid'socket by reason of-the's'a'id slotted openmgtherein. v

15. Their-mention definedin claim 1, in combination-with vcooperating locking members carried'fhy the respective separate parts independentlyof and separate from the wedge members for holding the latter in firm engagem'ent by preventing sliding disengaging movementthereof.

Q6. l lfe-s invention defined .in claim2, in g com blnation with a -'lug"projectingfrom the saidrofi set inner edge-portion of the sheet metal section, a cam member movably mount-v face-:ofthe' frame piece, a rotatable canii-piv oted upon thev inner 7 side 0f ;the framepiece over. which cam in -its' disengaged position the-channel-shapedlug-may slide as the said wedge plugjmoves into the said socket in the relative slidinglmovement of the sheet metal section and the framepii-ecmthe said lug being separate fromthe said wedge plug, the said I cam hem shaped-to engage wsith the adj acent lie end oft esaid lugto forceitheplug sand socket tightly together infwe'd ged relation, and a projecting finger o-n t'h'e cam to abut against "theend ofthe lug for thereby lockin r the engagedfcam against overthrow."

r n witness whereof, I": hereunto subscribe mysignatureL ANTO NE "vE'RIonLf corner-edge, and a cooperating wedge member carried by the-inner offset margin of the sheet metal-section witha similarly inclined wedge surface complementary to that of the wedge member on the frame piece so that thereby a 

